Disturbing Photo Shows Baby Crawling Across Busy New Jersey Road

LAKEWOOD, N.J. — A motorist spotted an infant boy crawling across a busy street in New Jersey on Saturday and stopped in time to bring the child to safety, according to WPIX.

Corey Cannon, 43, of Eatontown, said he was on his way to work when he saw a child on all fours who had just crossed the yellow double line.

"I thought it was a toy or something until (the baby) moved," he told Asbury Park Press in a message. "I knew I needed to get some sort of proof and my GPS was open on my phone, so I used my work vehicle to slow down traffic behind me and took the pic as I was exiting the vehicle and halting oncoming cars."

Cannon got out of his car and secured the child on Joe Parker Road in Lakewood around 6 p.m., then he called 911, police said.

When officers arrived, Cannon told police that while he was tending to the child, a neighbor came by to pick up the boy and return him home.

Officers found that the infant’s parents did not realize he was missing until the neighbor returned the baby to his home. According to the Asbury Park Press, a woman at that residence where the baby lived said "it was an accident."

The parents believed an older sibling may have left a door open, enabling the baby to crawl outside, police said.

“It’s horrible, and it’s not the parents’ fault because babies do climb out of cribs,” Mary Bauer, a resident of Lakewood, told WPIX.

Authorities are investigating the incident with assistance from the New Jersey Department of Child Protection and Permanency.